Convenience BETA
by AnneLaurant
Summary: Lord Cedric insists, and, even if Miranda simply goes by with things, wonders why the new owner of Ye Olde Bookshop insists. (Please see other fic of the same title to see a rewrite of the idea.)


Cartoonverse, post-season 2 with little explanation of what happened beforehand (use your imagination if you'd like). A take on how human!Orube (a.k.a. Rebecca Rudolph) would be like.

* * *

Lord Cedric insists that he's staying here at his old hideout of his on Earth out of convenience. Miranda is a bit annoyed at the thought of living among the humans for the meantime, so she teases him it was not so. He still insists.

The bookshop is close to the Sheffield, which makes it easier to spy on the guardians. It is also easy to hide portals here, with the number and size of shelves that lined up its interior, and to call humans towards it, with its proximity to civilization. And of course, it is to his personal taste. He appreciates the silence, companionship, and knowledge that books could offer.

The difference is that it's no longer owned by him, but by the stupidly human Rebecca Rudolph, and that stupid books already line up many shelves labelled, "Romance Novels".

To write and read of dubious relationships, improbable relationships, and impossible relationships seems to be an obsession for the human mind. Miranda goes over them silently, snickering at the stupidity and waste of paper.

"Don't tell me you're in the mood to read any of that trash."

Miranda laughs at the comment by the woman behind them (and probably makes her own on how she's enjoying the stupidity of humans). However, Lord Cedric frowns. It is such an assumption, and will never be true, for it will be a waste of time. A waste of time, indeed, for the guardians were scheduled to stop at this place in half an hour or so! No longer making effort to hide his real self, he turns to Rebecca Rudolph.

"It's trash, yes, so why are you promoting it?" he asks, in hopes of making her leave him be. But she doesn't.

Instead, she returns a question. "You're no longer the owner of this bookstore, so why are you still here?"

Lord Cedric is annoyed at the lack of respect. "Then, why do you still open your doors to us?"

"Why do you insist on staying close to me?"

"Why do you insist on not telling?"

It gets quiet for a while (except for Miranda's little giggles, and at this point, Lord Cedric does not know whether she's laughing at the human's 'genius' or at them). Rebecca Rudolph abandons the books she has been arranging, and sits down by her desk. She gestures to the chair opposite it. Lord Cedric does not accept her offer, but still, he draws nearer.

"Listen," Rebecca Rudolph says, the little humor of hers from a while ago gone, "Even if I believe you, nobody will believe me, and they'll simply write me off as a lunatic, and send me to an asylum in hopes of making me stop saying such things."

"Oh…?"

Lord Cedric is suddenly interested. He sits down. Rebecca Rudolph does not mind the change. She even smiles at him.

"I'm sure you've read history," she starts. She watches, as if waiting for him to catch interest. Lord Cedric does not know what is expected of him, but he nods.

So she continues, "Men of the old days once believed the Earth was flat, and they condemned and executed men who believed otherwise. Well, thanks to countless sailors and scientists and inventors later, the Earth is now round, sometimes even called 'oblate spheroid'."

Rebecca Rudolph pauses, like she knows that he doesn't know what that just meant. He takes the opportunity to speak. "And that would mean a similar shape, would it not?"

"Yes. Now, those who still argue that the Earth is flat, are seen as lunatics or stupid, uncivilized men."

Oh. What a turn of events. "Well, well. Does it not bear too much resemblance?"

The girl laughs. "Yes! Very much so. Humans are not that complicated at all, no matter what you'd like to think, or anyone for that matter. We are simple and contradictory. We want ourselves to be heard, but refuse to hear others when we dislike what we hear. We only change when we want to. When we realize that we have problems we can't solve, we wash our hands and pretend that they don't exist, or leave them for others to solve."

Rebecca Rudolph laughs once more, but it feels empty and rather forced. Lord Cedric feels good with the answers he is given, and with the profoundness he has found in a mere human being. Some of them can be quite smart, he notes, but they have to be hunted down, for they are hiding among the idiots who run the place.

"In short, the answer is, it's convenient," she concludes, bowing her head a little, "You're here because it's convenient, and I let you be because it's convenient."

It's true, though, he thinks. She wants silence, so she merely shows the guardians out the door the moment they show hostility towards him and Miranda. In that way, the two Meridianites have protection. This human is smart, but if she wants to keep her head, she'll have to pretend she isn't. Hm. Smart, indeed.

"You done with your little philosophy class, Milord?"

Lord Cedric is a bit startled. He stands and turns his attention on Miranda. He looks at the book on her hand with disgust, then at her with care. He takes the book and puts it back in the shelf (though he'd prefer to burn it instead).

"Well, I'm simply waiting for you to finish fishing among the trash," he tells her, as he brushes her cheek in adoration, "If I'm correct, the guardians should be on their way here now, and we should think of a way to greet them properly."

Lord Cedric turns to see if Rebecca Rudolph is planning to betray them this time, but, as ever, she stays silent. She quietly goes to do her own business around the bookstore, like their earlier conversation never happened.

Yes. That's right. Nothing happened. Lord Cedric agrees to that, and the face that Miranda makes, shows that she catches on quickly to the idea. That's right. Nothing happened. Ignorance is bliss, and ignoring the little time he wasted a while ago is so convenient.

* * *

I probably edged towards OOC, but I tried my best to reinterpret Orube's character if she were human - true to her beliefs, loyal to her friends, and utilizing what she has for a better quality of life, even if it's weird… or in her human self's case, condemning and sad.

If you want more, I'll consider writing more...


End file.
